Thursday, September 12, 2013

For The Love Of Vultures

"As the poaching of rhinos and elephants in southern Africa increases every year - more than 600 South African rhinos poached in 2013 to date - vultures are the unsuspecting victims.

The poachers are eager not to flag up their presence to game wardens.

So in some cases they have begun to poison the carcass of the animal they have just killed for its horn or tusks.

The vultures swoop in for their feed, unaware that the flesh is laced with a killer.

Ms Wolter says the stakes are high: "All you need is for one poisoned rhino, or one poisoned elephant, and you wipe out 600 vultures.

"However, during breeding season, it's not only the 600 vultures who consume that carcass. It's potentially their chicks as well.

"So you're looking at 1,200 birds at one poisoning incident.""

This reminds me of how, for our love of a carpet of grass, some non-indigenous shrubs, and a picture-perfect lawn, we overuse toxic chemicals with nary a thought to how those chemicals impact local wildlife.